Can't Stop [James Franco Fanfiction]

Ch. 7

Chapter 7

        Cool water splashed on my face. I felt it trickle down the sides of my cheeks and back behind my neck. I snapped my eyes open and the crack in the ceiling slowly came into focus.

        "Cassidy?"

        I groaned and turned over slightly. A nervous-looking Libby hovered over my bed, and beside her stood an even more nervous-looking Dave. It took a moment for me to register where I was and what was going on.

        "Cassidy?" Libby repeated timidly. "Are you okay? I think you went unconscious... Dave is here, he was worried about you..." her voice trailed off. I watched her eyes narrow as she tried to read me. Was I mad at her? Mad at Dave?

        Truthfully, I couldn't answer that. On one hand, I felt like a complete idiot for never realizing that James was famous, or that Dave was his also-famous little brother. They probably thought I was such a fool. Maybe it was all a joke to them -- play along until she realizes. See what it's like to be normal for a couple of days. Were they ever planning to tell me?

        Another part of me felt just a little bit guilty. They were brothers, after all. And I had been talking to both of them... but it was never anything serious. They couldn't be mad at me for that, could they? I wasn't sure if I wanted to stick around long enough to find out. My head began to ache and I tried to clear my mind.

        Dave cleared his throat. "Look, Cassidy, I know you're probably confused right now, and--"

        "I'm not," I said firmly. 

        He looked caight off guard, as if he had memorized a speech and lost his place. "Oh, well, that's good. But, uh, you're probably mad at me, so just let me--"

        I sat up in my bed. "I'm not mad at you. I'm mad at James. Where is he? This all started with him. You never lied to me, I was just clueless. But James... that's different. He lied. He made me look like an idiot, and now the whole country can laugh at me, too."

        Dave looked even more surprised, but his face quickly darkened. "Great. I'm pissed at him, too."

        Libby raised an eyebrow at him, demanding an explanation.

        "What, you think I don't have the right to be mad? He's my brother, yeah, but he's insane. He is 30 years old, and he's trying to pick up a college freshman. That makes me sick." Dave's voice was growing louder now. He began pacing back and forth."I fucking knew something was up. He called me the other day -- he never calls me, not unless it's for work or something -- and kept asking if I had met anyone new lately. He must have known we met. God, I can't stand him."

        I frowned. "Yeah, I mentioned that I met someone who had acted in a movie recently. That's when that picture was taken. He got pissed and stormed out of the restaurant."

        Dave shook his head. "He directed that film. He knew it was me."

        I bit my lip. "I haven't seen him since then."

       Libby sat down next to me and laid a hand on my shoulder. "Dave, I appreciate you coming over to help. It means a lot, but Cass is doing better now," she said, giving me a slight smile. "Why don't you just give her some space, okay?"

        Dave frowned at her. Damn, he looked so good when he was angry.  

        My phone vibrated against the table beside me. I leaned over to grab it before Libby could stop me, but immediately wished I hadn't when I saw James' name flash across the screen. I ignored it.

        "Libby's right. I feel fine. Thanks, Dave," I said somewhat firmly.

     He sighed, nodded, and reluctantly headed towards the door. "Okay. Call me if you need anything." I closed my eyes and waited to hear to door close softly behind him.

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        I hadn't left the dorm the entire day. Libby had to leave periodically for classes, but she came back in between to check on me and bring me snacks. I almost felt bad for her, and I told her she didn't have to baby me, but that's just the kind of friend she is. So I laid in bed and drank smoothies and ate chocolate chip cookies and stared at the crack in the cieling over my head -- I was afraid to check the internet.

        James called me about six times, and each time I ignored him. After his most recent call, he left a voicemail:

        "Cassidy? Hey, it's James... uh, I, uh, I don't know where you are or why you aren't answering, but I really need to talk to you. There's, uh, just something online and I want to be the one to tell you about it before you find out from someone else. So... yeah... don't worry about it or anything, though. It's not a big deal, it's just a thing. Anyway, call me back... I really need to see you. Okay? Uh, okay, bye then, Cass."

         I debated calling him back for a while. He honestly believed I still didn't know who he was, or what he did, or that Dave was his little brother. God, did he really think I was that stupid? Then again, how could somebody who's interested in film not know James Franco? I pulled the covers of my bed tighter around me and willed myself to fall asleep. 

        I awoke to the buzzing of my phone in my hand. My mind was dazed by sleep, and without thinking, I answered it. "Hello?" I mumbled groggily.

        "Cass? Finally!" James' voice boomed through the speaker into my ear.

        I groaned and contemplated hanging up on him.

        "Cass, listen to me. There's this picture going around online... I don't want you to freak out, but it's getting a lot of media attention..." When I didn't respond, he continued. "...and there's a reason for that, which I want to explain. But I should do it in person, Cass, okay? I can meet you in an hour on campus. Just don't talk to anyone else in the meantime. Don't go online. Don't do anything..."

        I hung up and threw my phone across the room. I didn't want to see James. Not now, not in an hour, not ever again.

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A/N: Just a short update for today! I'm on winter break for a while, so I will have plenty of time to write more chapters in the next week or so. Thanks to you all for sticking with this story -- your comments make me want to keep going with this fanfic. xo